Characters of the Judgement series

[3] A "friendship" system was developed to characterize Yagami's personality as he forms bonds with several non-playable characters, which integrates them into the setting.

[1] Lost Judgment was written to be realistic, something the staff found challenging while providing themes seen as sensitive to the audience like bullying as well as what should people call justice, with the latter being explored through Yagami's characterization.

[8] Hosokawa said the team read books from authors like Keigo Higashino and Hideo Yokoyama when preparing to write the game with the former's novel The Devotion of Suspect X being a major influence.

Strichart commented that Yagami is not a hero so he is not able to solve all these cases on his which contrast the fantasy style Persona 5 which often deals with the protagonists saving victims using their powers.

Nevertheless, Yagami demonstrates a major influence on the bullies he meets in the game's beginning to the point they become heroic figures during the climax.

[11] Localization producer Scott Strichart observed that the portrayals of yakuza are faithful to the main series due to multiple characters being involved in the clans.

[13] For the English version of Lost Judgment, many of the cast members from the first installment returned, but Strichart said some were replaced for logistical reasons.

[14] The English recording studio was made in PCB Productions owned by Keith Arem with major aid by Vicky Lee.

Following the femicide of a nurse at the hands of a man he once defended, Yagami quits his work as a lawyer and becomes a detective with the former yakuza Masaharu Kaito.

Both's original meeting takes back to decades before the first game's story where the two repeatedly fight with Kaito's boss, Matsugane, overseeing them.

While Kaito is a trusted yakuza, during an rob orchestrated by Hamura secretly, he is forced to leave the family with Yagami recruiting him before he has to lose a finger.

During the two games, Yagami requests Shirosaki help with solving different cases which leads to areas where the player controls the defense attorney.

In Judgment, Shintani remains busy investigating the Mole case on his own apart from his friends which costs his life in the process at the hands of the culprit.

Years before the story's beginning, Matsugane meets Yagami as he was battling a younger Kaito in the streets and decide to care for him alongside Genda.

Although Hamura is the true mastermind behind clan's problems, Matsugane feels guilty for this, leading to his sacrifice when the Mole tries to silence.

After Pierre Taki, a Japanese actor whose voice and likeness had been used for the character of Hamura, was arrested for cocaine possession and use by officers of the Narcotics Control Department (NCD) of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

[21] Sega later said that Taki's voice and likeness would be replaced, but the game's planned release date in the West on June 25, 2019, would remain unchanged.

However, the sideeffects of AD-9 lead to the death of the patient Koichi Waku and the nurse Emi, which would result on Yagami quitting his work.

He appears as man proud of the AD-9 whom the player must attract while controlling Shirosaki in order to help Yagami obtain information about the Mole's identity and solve the case.

When Hamura exposes his identity to Yagami, the protagonist faces Kuroiwa several times at the ADDC but loses and is shot by the police.

These actions led to Ayabe's arrest after the Mole leaves his own gun in Shintani's dead body as a means to stop him from revealing information.

During the narrative it is revealed that Kuwana has killed bullies in his own group which leads to his rivalry with Yagami who wants him sent to jail.

[28] Engadget enjoyed both the main character and the multiple sidecases the game offers as it helps to explore the supporting cast as well as civilians living in Kamurocho.

[3] RPGamer found the entire cast stands out to the ones featured in the Yakuza series with sidequests having also different tones as they range from dark to comical.

[29] VG247 lamented the handling of female characters, especially Saori Shirosaki due to how her role in the first game is to provide comic relief in the form charming a man to the point it felt like fanservice in an anime.

[31][28] Computer Games Magazine stated that the two antagonists Kuwana and Soma pose as interesting characters, they do it at the expense of returning members from the first game who do little in comparison,[31] Although he does not team up with Kaito many times in the sequel, GameSpot felt that Yagami became a more likable character in the sequel and is able to deliver emotional scenes properly.

[40] RPGamer awarded the first game "Best Voice Acting"[41] GameSpot and Collider praised the presentation in terms of graphics, character renders and two districts Yagami can visit.